External shank supporter



March 22, 1932. c. T, READ EXTERNAL SHANK SUPPORTER Filed Nov. 8, 1929 @Mvw Zn/ CHHHLE'S .7: E550 Patented Mar. 22, 1932 I CHARLES T. READ, OF MILWAUKEEQWISGONSIN EXTERLIAL SHANK' SUPPOBTER Application filed November This inventionrelates to improvements in arch supporters.

One of the objects of my invention is to provide asimple, economical, andeifective arch supporter which can be attached to any shoe and when so attached, the said supporter I will not interfere in any way with of a pedestrian, and at the same the comfort time will "1 materially aid in protecting the foot against porting element upon strain.

Another object of my invention is the provision of an arch supporter provided with means whereby to properly position the supthe bottom of a shoe prior to permanently connecting the device in position so that the supporter will be properly placed with respect'to the sole and instep of the shoe before it is permanently attached.

A further advantage of the invention is that it will present the full supportingsurface of the bottom of the shoe to the pedestrian and thus may, in eflect, serve as a nonskid element.

Heretofore, so fares I am aware, various forms of arch supporters have been constructed to fit within the shoe or have been permanently built into. the same, in which latter case flexibility 1 impaired. :In some instances, shoesfitted '1 In other words,

1 within the sole,

under heavy load, will break j same will cause the shoe with sucharch supporters are uncomfortable, and in order to meet the addedflshoe area, parties using such removable supporters must use a shoe quite a little larger than a real fit. the last mentioned arch sup: porter type is what might be termed a makeshift.

Furthermore,certain shoes have been made with a metallic, spring arch support built and it has been found that these springs, down and the shoe in eflect will flatten out at the arch. Where such springs are of s'ufii-' cie'nt strength to support the arch load," the to be so rigid that the ordinary flexing ofthe same in walking is not present.

With the above and other objects in view which will appear hereinafter, the invention consists in certain peculiarities of construction and combination'of partssubstantially of the shoe is materially .8, 1929. ,Seria1,No.405,712.

as hereinafter described and more particularly defined by the appended claim,

such changes in the precise understood that it being.

embodiment of the herein disclosed invention may be made as come within the scope of the claim.

In the drawings, Figure 1 is a side elevation of a shoe illustrating my'improved arch supporter attached thereto Figure 2 is a bottom plan view of the shoe showing the relative position shoe; I detail transverse section with respect to the Figure 3 is a of the supporter through the supporter and,

Figure 4 is a transverse the line H of Figure 2..

Referring more s sectional View on particularly to the drawit will be noted that I have described my improved arch supporter in connection with a shoe which compri ses a heel portion 1 with the adjacent instepportion 2 and preferably the arch support 18 instep adjacent the forward 1.- The construction of a cludes the outer sole member positioned 1n the edge of the heel shoe usually in- 3, the inner sole portion 4, and the sole lining 5.

Referring now more particularly to the drawings of the supporter itself, it will be noted that I have provided a metallic plate 6 which tapers in thickness edge, which is disposed at from the forward the portion of the instep 2, toward the back of the plate which is positioned adjacent the heel 1, thus taklng care of the usual inclination of the instep 2 so that when the plateis step, as shown in Figures attached to the in- 1 and 2, the lowermost portion thereof will be substantially parallel with of the shoe and the tread lower side of the plate is provided with spaced V flanges 8, said flange parallel outstanding the tread 7 of the front portion of the heel. The

having under out side portions 9 adapted to receive therein the flared edges 10 of the insert 11. This insert 11 may be of rubber, or'the like, thereof projecting beyond the flanges 8 when the with of a composition the lower faces of device isin applied position, as shown in Figure 4 and the outer or lower surface off-the body ll'is so positioned as tohavethe same lie substant ally the body portion flush with the tread of the heel 1 and the tread 7 of the forward portion of the foot.

In the construction of shoes, it is apparent that the shape of the instep varies'in shoes for men and women, Womens shoes usually having the instep slightly curved transversely upon the outer surface thereof, while as a general rule, the instep of a mans shoe is nearly straight across and, therefore, the contacting surface of the plate 6 must necessarily conform to the outer surface of the instep in order to have the same fit snugly against the instep. In the present instance, I have illustrated the inner surface of the plate 6 as slightly curved to conform to the instep of a womans shoe and certain types of mens shoes where the insteps are slightly curved. The side flanges of the plates 6 are tapered upwardly toward the body portion, as shown in Figure 4;, and each side flange is provided with an opening to receive therethrough a securin rivet 12. These rivets 12 are first inserted through the sole portion 3 of the shoe with the tapering head part 13 embedded in the inner surface of the outer sole beneath the inner soled, as shown in Figure 4.

Preferably, the flanges 8 are slightly tapered, as shown at Figure 2, so that the insert when being placed in position is driven in between the flanges with the flaring portion 10 engaging beneath the undercut portion 9 of the flanges so as to securely retain the insert in position. Due to the elasticity of the insert, the frictional contact between the flanges and the flared portion of the insert will maintain the insert in proper position relative to the plate.

In order to save time and properly position the supporter with respect to the sole portion of the shoe, and properly place the supporter within the instep, both the insert and the plate are provided with aligned openings 14 whereby a suitable pin or nail 15 can be passed throughthese openings and engaged with the sole portion 3,as shown in Figure 4. The plate 6 can then be adjusted so that the rivet openings therein can be readily aligned with the openings in the sole portion 3, so that the rivets 12 can be inserted in these openings with the heads 16 for retaining the plate in position within the instep.

Itis also preferred to provide a slightly ;arti e.-and,' u thermore,

the proper openings for attaching the plate to the instep of the shoe.

While it is preferred to have the plate 6 formed of metal, it Will be apparent that a suitable composition such as hard rubber, or the like, can be used if found desirable, and the plate as well as the instep can be made of different dimensions, the essential feature being that the ground engaging surface of the tread surface has a direct support for the attention is directed to the fact that when this article is attached .to a shoe it does not impair the appearance of the shoe thereof.

It will be apparent that by utilizing an arch supporter of this general type, a'positive and efficient support is formed for the foot under all conditions, and it has been found that users of this support can walk comparatively great distances without tiring and, it adds to the shoe the natural support which the {foot should have under normal conditions.

Vhile I have shownand described the arch supporter as an attachment to be applied to the under side of the instep of the shoe sole, obviously under certain conditions the support canbe made integral with the shoe or it may be providedas aportion ofthe heel.

I claim:

An external arch supporter for shoes com;

prisinga solid attaching plate having a concavity on its upper face and a longitudinal dovetailgroove on its lower face, means for securing the plate on opposite sides of the groove toithe instep of a shoe forwardly of thefheel, a resilient inserthaving its upper end shaped to correspond to the groove and slidably mounted therein, the insert and the plate having openings for registration with one another when the insert is in its operative position in the groove, and means receivedinsaidopenings for holding the insert normally againstmovement. I

Intestimony that I claim the foregoing I have'hereunto set my'hand at Milwaukee, in the county of Milwaukee and State of VVisconsin,

CHARLES T. READ.

hollow, portion or recess portion 17in theface of the plate which lies next to the sole portion 3, to provide for a certain amount of action onthe part of the sole 3, whena persons weight is applied thereto.

It will be apparent from the foregoing that owing to the convenient arrangement of the arch supporter, it can be readily attached to any shoe without the aid of an expert,as the pin 15 can be properly centered between the sidelines of the instep and at the pro er distance from the heel 1, so that by'a justing the; plate 6, the rivets 12 can be, passed through 

